President Donald Trump has signed an executive order giving most federal employees paid days off on Christmas Eve (December 24, 2025) and the day after Christmas (December 26, 2025), effectively extending the holiday break around Christmas.
The executive order closes all executive departments and agencies on those two days in addition to the established federal holiday of Christmas Day (December 25), creating a longer holiday period for many federal workers.
Because Christmas falls on a Thursday this year, the move gives many federal employees a five-day break that includes the weekend before and after the holiday.
The directive allows leaders of individual agencies to require certain offices to remain open or staff to work on December 24 or 26 for reasons of national security, defense, or other public necessity, meaning not every federal employee will automatically get both days off.
This action continues a practice in which presidents sometimes grant additional time off around major holidays, especially when they fall adjacent to weekends, though giving both the day before and after Christmas off is less common.
While the federal government will shut down on those days for most staff, major U.S. financial markets such as the NYSE and Nasdaq have confirmed they will remain open and operate on their regular schedules, as the holiday designation applies to government employees but does not change private-sector trading calendars.
The executive order is temporary for 2025 only and does not create new permanent federal holidays — that authority still rests with Congress.
Federal employees and their families are preparing to enjoy the longer break, while employers outside the government decide independently whether to offer similar time off to their own workers
